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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. swing — music
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. swing — in golf
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. march — the month
  7. wound — an injury
  8. date — the fruit
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. march — music
  12. march — the month
  13. present — a gift
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. present — the time now
  16. present — there
  17. swing — to play on
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. rush — hurry
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. wound — an injury

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com